Mizuki's Revenge
by wearebulletproof
Summary: Lady Tsunade gets a creepy warning, tensions begin to lead to Mizuki, Orochimaru, and the prison. Iruka, determined to settle the fued between him and his comrade, goes out on his own to stop Mizuki. Team Kakashi learns about Iruka's bold move and is dispatched to bring him back to the village. But what they find will not only unleash Naruto's anger but Kakashi's as well. KakaIru.
1. The Letter

**Disclaimer: I do not own anyone involved in Naruto. I only own this story.**

**Small note: I just wanted to point out that this story is in the shippuden era. I'm not sure if you caught that by the summary, so I just wanted to let you all know! Please, enjoy the first chapter ^_^**

* * *

Chapter One: The Letter

"Iruka-sensei~!" The said male turned around, blinking in surprise. His eyes immediately spotted Naruto, who waved eagerly at him with a large smile on his face. Iruka's eyes softened and he smiled at his student. "You're back from your mission!"

"Ah, hai." Iruka said, folding his arms across his chest. "It wasn't exactly time consuming now that I think about it." Iruka paused in thought before he looked at Naruto. He blinked, noticing Naruto was looking at him with a worried expression. "What's wrong, Naruto? Did something happen while I was gone?"

Naruto shook his head no and reached out, pointing to Iruka's leg. "You're injured, sensei." Naruto said.

"Eh?" Iruka said, his eyes widening as he looked down at his leg. He noticed a dark spot staining his right thigh. He reached down and touched it, flinching a little the jolt of pain. "Now...when did this happen?"

"You didn't feel it?!" Naruto exclaimed. Iruka looked up at Naruto before shaking his head no. "Sensei," Naruto's eyes hardened a little. "What kind of a mission were you on?" Iruka's eyes widened a little and he gulped.

"Naruto, I don't think it's your right to ask something like that." A voice chimed in. They both looked up to see Sakura and Sai standing there, with Kakashi behind them. "But from what I can see from his scraps and the injury, it was a mission that ended badly." Sakura continued as she walked towards Iruka.

"Ah, really, I'm fine! It's probably not that serious." Iruka exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. Sakura chuckled before putting her hands on her hips.

"Iruka-sensei, let me heal you. I bet you wouldn't want to report to Lady Tsunade like that, right?" She said. Iruka blinked before letting out a sigh. He reached up and rubbed the side of his neck.

"Alright, fine." He said. Sakura gestured for him to sit down, and he did was he was told. Iruka watched the girl heal his leg before he looked up at Kakashi, blinking a little as he noticed his friend watching him intently.

"Kakashi?" Iruka said. Kakashi blinked and looked up at him, as if snapping out of a daze. "Are you alright? You looked like you were day-dreaming." Kakashi chuckled and folded his arms across his chest.

"Nah, I was just thinking. Didn't you have others that went on the mission with you, Iruka?" He said. Iruka's eyes widened. "It's just odd that I didn't see them come back with you."

"A-Ah, that..." Iruka's eyebrows furrowed and he looked down. Naruto looked up at Iruka and his eyes narrowed a little.

"Sensei, what happened on your mission?" He asked. Kakashi held up a hand at Naruto and shook his head.

"Iruka, walk with me to Lady Tsunade's. We need to talk about your mission." He said. Iruka nodded softly and stood up, bowing his head at Sakura. He followed Kakashi as the other began walking. Their pace was slow. Kakashi side-glanced Iruka, watching him stare down at the ground as he played with his fingers.

"Iruka." Kakashi said. Iruka bit his lower lip a little at the seriousness in Kakashi's tone. "What mission did she put you on?"

"...Me and two others were sent to investigate an explosion in the Sand Village." Iruka said. Kakashi's eyes widened. "Tsunade thought it was suspicious, so that's why she sent us. I volunteered to go, and she let me - knowing that my knowledge would prove useful. We got there and there was a bad feeling about the place. Gaara approached us and we asked him questions about the explosion. So far, all we had was a simple "miscalculation in a training experiment." A student was reckless with a bomb and accidentally set it off, killing himself and 4 others in the process." Kakashi's eyes narrowed and he rubbed his chin slowly in thought. "Me and the others didn't have anything else, so we were heading back when a group of Sound ninja came out of nowhere and attacked us. They killed the other two men I was with and knocked me out. I don't know how long I was out but when I woke up, I was near the gate of the village. I don't really know what their intent was, but-"

"-Wait, did you say _Sound_ ninja?!" Kakashi exclaimed. Iruka blinked up at him and slowly nodded. Kakashi's eyes narrowed. He grabbed Iruka's hand and began running towards Tsunade's headquarters. Iruka exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowing but followed him.

"K-Kakashi! What's wrong now?!" Iruka said. Kakashi remained silent as he kept running. They busted through the doors, startling the Hokage and Shizune. Tsunade blinked and set the report down.

"Iruka, you're back." She said and looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi? Don't tell me you're looking for another mission!" Kakashi shook his head no and pulled Iruka into the room.

"No, it's not that." He said. Kakashi turned and looked at Iruka. "Tell her. Tell her what you just told me." Iruka furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the Hokage, who blinked at them in confusion.

"Is it the mission?" Shizune said, tilting her head to the side. Iruka nodded slowly. "Iruka, report!"

"The two men you sent with me are dead, m'lady." Iruka said. Tsunade's eyes widened. "We investigated the explosion like you said. But all we found out was that it was an accident. A student was misbehaving and accidentally set off a bomb, killing himself and 4 others. We were on our way back and a group of Sound ninja came out of nowhere and attacked us. The other men were killed, but they spared me. I was knocked unconscious and when I awoke, I was laying on the ground in front of the gate."

"Say, Iruka..." Kakashi said. Iruka turned and looked at him. "I just noticed something. You have something in your pocket."

"Eh?" Iruka said, looking down and fishing his hand in his pocket. He blinked in confusion as he pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Now when did this get here?" Tsunade's eyes narrowed and she held out her hand. Iruka immediately gave it to her and they all watched as she unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the letters on the paper before she gasped.

"W-What is it?" Shizune said. "What does it say, Lady Tsunade?" Tsunade looked up, his eyes narrowing.

"Shizune, get Team 9 ready. Send word to the Village in the Sand - and to Gaara - that we're coming and no one should be around the explosion area so Neji could see what truly happened." She said. Iruka blinked, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. Shizune blinked before she nodded, running out of the room.

"Tsunade..." Kakashi said. "Is it what I think it is?" Tsunade looked at him and nodded. "But why send Team 9?"

"I heard that Neji - with the help of Hinata's uncle - learned a new technique with the Byakugan. He can rewind time with the Byakugan and see what happened, but he can only rewind it to a certain point. Hopefully, we'll be able to get what happened." She explained. Iruka looked back and forth between Kakashi and the Hokage.

"Yah, what's going on?!"He exclaimed. "What do you guys know that I don't?!" Tsunade looked at him and sighed deeply.

"Iruka...it's best that you don't know." She said. Iruka frowned and looked at Kakashi, who was watching with him with a worried gaze. Iruka sighed deeply, rubbing the side of his neck before he nodded silently. "You can go home now, Iruka. You've done enough for today." Iruka nodded and bowed at her before he turned for the door.

_"What's going on?"_ Iruka thought as he reached out for the doorknob. _"What is now? Why won't they tell me anything...?"_ Iruka grabbed the doorknob and suddenly, he froze. His eyes widened as a jolt of pain suddenly ran through him. His heart slammed in his chest and the next thing he heard before everything went black was Kakashi's voice, calling out his name.

* * *

"Sakura, you're telling me that you didn't trace a single ounce of the poison in his system?" Tsunade said. Sakura nodded, a frown evident on her face. "Are you **positive**?"

"Yes, I am!" Sakura slightly shouted. "If I did, I'd send him to the hospital! I wouldn't purposely send him to you knowing he was poisoned! When I healed him, there wasn't ANY traces of poison in his bloodline! And you know I'm good at sensing that..." Shizune looked over at Iruka, who was laying unconscious in the hospital bed.

"This is suspicious." Naruto said, his tone tense. Kakashi stood next to him, his eyes glued on Iruka. "It feels like someone's targeting Iruka-sensei."

"Someone's sending a message." Kakashi said. They all looked up at him. "Yes, you're right Naruto. It seems that someone is targeting Iruka but I also feel like the Hidden Leaf Village is also a target."

"Lady Tsunade," Sai said, taking a step forward. "You must tell us what the letter said." Tsunade looked at the three students before she looked at Kakashi, who nodded. She let out a sigh, momentarily closing her eyes.

"It's a creepy letter but once I saw it, I immediately got tense and all of my thoughts went to him." She said. Naruto's eyes narrowed a little. "The letter said **I'm getting my revenge**, but that was it. I had this gut feeling it was sent by...It all made sense: the ambush Iruka had from the Sound ninja."

"Sound ninja?" Naruto said, his eyes widening. "The Village of the Sound...where..." Naruto gasped and Tsunade nodded.

"I pulled the puzzle pieces together. The ambush of the Sound ninja, the letter, Iruka's life being spared." She walked towards the bedside of Iruka. "He's coming back for his revenge, not only on Iruka and the Hidden Leaf Village, but on you too, Naruto." Tsunade explained, turning around to face Naruto.

"On me...? Who is this guy?!" Naruto exclaimed. Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, giving him a look to calm down and just think. Naruto bit his lip, looking over at Iruka then at Tsunade. "The ambush...the letter...revenge...Iruka..." Naruto's eyes widened as he let out a gasp. "It's Mizuki, isn't it?!"

"That's right." Tsunade nodded. "Before we jump to conclusions and immediately set out for him, we must know if the explosion is tied to the ambush. I think it's mere coincidence that Iruka was on the mission but still, I have a feeling Mizuki knew." He said.

"That's why you sent Team 9." Kakashi said. Sakura blinked and looked up at their sensei.

"Why Team 9? Is it because of the new technique Neji learned?" She asked. Kakashi nodded. "I heard about it from Hinata...She said he tried it out and it seemed to work. Now Hinata is learning it as well."

"Hinata, too, huh?" Naruto said with a soft smile. Sai looked at him with an eyebrow arched. "I heard she's been learning a lot of new techniques." Sakura nodded.

"She wants to become stronger so she can protect you." Sai responded. "It's obvious; her motive." Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as he remembered when Hinata protected him during the fight with Pein. His eyes closed at the memory of watching her nearly dying in front of him, letting out a deep breathe.

"Let me know what Team 9 finds on the explosive." Naruto said, turning to walk towards the door.

"Naruto, what makes you think I'll tell you?" Tsunade said, folding her arms across her chest. Naruto stopped as he opened the door, turning his head. Sakura gasped at the intense look Naruto had on his face.

"I told Mizuki twice now." He said. "If he _ever_ lays a hand on my sensei, I'll kill him." Naruto walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Tsunade sighed deeply, shaking her head.

"Lady Tsunade," Shizune said. "Mizuki and Naruto have a huge history together, Iruka getting caught in the middle both times." Tsunade looked at her, arching her eyebrow. "I'm saying that...if the explosion ties together with Mizuki, we should let Team 7 go after him."

"And why should I allow that?!" Tsunade exclaimed.

"Well, Naruto became stronger, as have Sakura and Sai." Shizune continued, looking up at Kakashi as she held Ton Ton in her arms. "I just feel like Naruto and the team should go. Naruto wants to settle things between Mizuki, and knowing him, he'll get angry if you send out a different team."

"Shizune is right." Sai said. "As a team, we know Naruto well. If you don't end up sending us to Mizuki, he'll most likely go out on his own. He's done so before, hasn't he?" Tsunade sighed before waving her hand as she headed for the door.

"Fine, fine. We'll let Team 7 go. Now let's get going already." She said. They all followed her out of the door, except Kakashi. He stood there, staring at Iruka before he walked to the bedside.

"Iruka..." Kakashi said softly. "You can stop pretending now." Iruka sighed softly and opened his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows as he stared up at the ceiling.

"...How could you tell I was awake?" Iruka said, turning his gaze to look at Kakashi.

"You have terrible acting skills. I saw you glance your fist when we started talking about Mizuki." He said.

"If you saw, then why did you let Tsunade tell the truth knowing I was awake? Didn't you not want me to know?" Iruka said, frowning. Kakashi sighed and sat down on the bed.

"I thought you, of all people, should know. You and Mizuki were friends. I didn't think it was right of Tsunade to keep it all a secret." He explained. Iruka sighed and closed his eyes, reaching up to rub the side of his head.

"...I never thought I'd be hearing of him again. It's been so long. _Too _long. Why now, though?" He said. Kakashi shrugged and looked at Iruka.

"Maybe he's been spending all this time learning new techniques." Kakashi suggested. Iruka's eyes opened and he looked up at him, his eyes slightly widened. "It's possible, Iruka."

"I don't want to think that!" Iruka exclaimed. Kakashi blinked at him. "Do you know how hard it was to bring him down last time?! Plus, those two idiot brothers were a lot of trouble! We both were hurt badly! I don't want to think that he's learning new techniques. It means he's stronger than last time, and I don't mean by that liquid he drank! He'll be harder to defeat-"

"Iruka." Kakashi reached up, holding Iruka's face in his hands. Iruka's eyes widened and a blush crossed his cheeks. Kakashi's expression was serious. "You're not going to tied in the middle this time." Iruka blinked.

"B-But, Kakashi!"

"No buts, Iruka!" Kakashi retorted. "You were injured badly both times! I don't want you injured a third time. I won't let you go on the pursuit mission with me and the kids. You have to stay in the hospital." Iruka frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"...Alright. Fine. I will." He said. Kakashi nodded and pulled his hands away, getting to his feet.

"Good." Kakashi said. Iruka sat up in the bed, watching Kakashi head towards the door. He bit his lip and looked down as he gripped on to the sheets. "Iruka," Iruka looked up at him. "I'm telling you stay here because I care for you...I don't know how I'll be if I find out you're injured again...You should have saw me last time." Kakashi turned, watching Iruka's expression change to shock. "I was a wreck." Under the mask, Iruka could see a small smile. His eyebrows furrowed and he watched his friend leave the room.

"...Kakashi..." He said softly. Iruka turned his head and looked out of the window, slowly getting to his feet. He went to the window and stared out, watching Kakashi walk out of the hospital. "I'm sorry. You wouldn't understand...I'm the only one that can do this." Iruka closed the blinds and leaned against the window, closing his eyes before he shot them open. "I'm the only one who can stop Misuki."

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

**author's note: wow what a shitty first chapter...i'll let you know this is my first time attempting a KakaIru fanfic, more over a Naruto themed fanfic. ORZ. I hope you enjoyed ^^; lemme know what you think!**


	2. The Pursuit

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I simply own the story.**

**So this is the second chapter. I got some advice from someone to replace "he said/she said" with different words. Orz. I'll try my best to do so. If I don't quite get it, could you guys list some recommendations? Thanks and I hope you enjoy ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Pursuit**

The wind blew softly, pushing green leaves to scatter across the ground in front of his feet as he walked. The Jinjuriki let out a breathe as his blue eyes stared at the building in front of him. It was a part of the Hyuga estate, a training ground where members of the Hyuga clan would practice new techniques. He remembered visiting this place once a while back when they had to search for the rare beetle. But that was a long time ago, and he was full aware of her new techniques as well of how she has grown in maturity.

He let out a breathe, closing his eyes briefly before he reopened them and walked through the entrance. He could hear soft grunts behind a strict male's voice that was calling out either compliments or pointing out mistakes.

Naruto looked around the area before he spotted who he was looking for. He stopped and folded his arms across his chest as his eyes followed Hinata, who was moving quickly around a shadow clone. Her father stood at the sidelines, watching his daughter closely.

"Hinata," Her father called out after several minutes of silence. Hinata stopped, panting quite heavily, and looked back at her father. "I think we had enough training for today. It seems you got a guest." Hinata released her Byakugan and looked over at Naruto. Her expression changed to shock as she realized that it was really him.

"I'm not intruding, right?" Naruto questioned, hoping he didn't piss Hinata's father off. But the man simply shook his head no in response. "Okay. Do you mind if I talk to Hinata for a bit? She won't be gone for long, I promise." Hinata's father looked up at Naruto, his purple eyes watching him keenly before he caught on. The man then silently nodded and watched Hinata walk over to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" Hinata asked softly, her eyebrows furrowing a little.

"What? I can't stop by to visit?" Naruto joked with a small laugh. Hinata smiled softly and shook her head. "Come on. Walk with me." He began walking out of the entrance with Hinata close at his side.

_"I wonder what Naruto has to say." _Hinata thought as she bit her bottom lip. She looked up at him, pressing her pointer fingers together repeatedly. _"He looks troubled...Did he come by to discuss what happened with Pain a while back...?"_

"Hinata." Naruto's voice sounded tense, but not that tense. It was like he was in deep thought. "When I was fighting with Pain, you said something, and I can't get it out of my head." Hinata's eyes widened a little. "You confessed to me. Am I right?" Naruto continued before he turned his head to look at her.

"U-Um..." Hinata stuttered and quickly looked at the ground as she felt a blush crossing her cheeks. "If you put it like that, t-then...hai. I did." Naruto's fists clenched a little and he looked ahead, his eyebrows pulling together as a long sigh left his lips.

"Hinata...you didn't need to do that." Naruto murmured. "But what Pain did to you after that...I snapped. I got so angry, I just wanted to tear him apart." Hinata sighed softly and looked up at the sky.

"I could do it all over again if I could." She confessed. Naruto's eyes widened and he looked at her.

"But Hinata!" He retorted. "You **nearly **died!" Naruto got in front of her and gently took her by the shoulders. "I'm not going to let something like that happen ever again, do you hear me?!" Hinata blinked, startled by his reasoning. "I'm not going to watch one of the people I care about nearly **die** in front of me!"

"Naruto-kun..." She muttered as her eyebrows furrowed. "We protect the things we cherish, the things we treasure and fear of loosing - even if we put our own lives at the stake. I protected you because I didn't want to lose you. I wanted you to fulfill your dream and become the Hokage you keep talking about! If I died, it's not like everyone would mourn..." Naruto's stern expression softened. "If you died, everyone would be sad."

"Hinata, if you died, I'd be sad." Naruto exhaled. He pulled Hinata close to him and held her tightly in his arms. "Out of everyone, I'd be the one who would cry the most." Hinata's eyes widened in shock as she stilled, frozen in his arms. "Even as we were young, you were the only one who always understood my pain, my sorrow and never once judged me for what was inside of me. You didn't care what others said. I don't ever want to loose a person like that, and most of all; I don't want to loose _you_, Hinata." Tears formed in Hinata's eyes and she slid her hands up Naruto's back to grip on to his jacket as she buried her face into his shoulder. Naruto's eyes squeezed shut a little as he held her tighter to his chest.

"So, please." He begged softly. "Don't die."

* * *

"Team 9 reporting in." Neji stated as they walked into Lady Tsunade's headquarters. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here, Kakashi-sensei. We could report in later if we're interrupting." Tsunade shook her hand and waved her hand for them to come in. The 3 jounin's walked in.

"It's alright." Tsunade spoke. "Kakashi's here to listen to what you guys have to report." Rock Lee blinked and looked up at the silver-haired man. "Well? What did you guys find?"

"Well," TenTen chimed in. "It wasn't an accident, that's for sure. It was set on purpose. The student's name was Toruko, but we were unable to find his last name."

"It's like he was a ghost." Lee added. "No one knew a single thing about him except for his name and where he came from."

"Where was he from?" Kakashi asked, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against Tsunade's desk.

"The Sound village." Neji responded. "Which was interesting from the visions I had when I went to the explosion area. Toruko was apart of the group that ambushed Iruka. This whole thing was set-up by Mizuki, you were right. But this time, there isn't any ties with Orochimaru or the prison. They originally met up at the building, discussing their game plan. Toruko mentioned that he saw Iruka-sensei when they were heading there. One of the men stated that they were originally set out to kill everyone who went to investigate the explosion, but since Iruka was on his way, he said it was a good opportunity to get the message out. Iruka found something else out when they were there as well."

"What?" Kakashi tensed, his eyes narrowing. "What did he find out that he didn't tell us?"

"Please, don't be upset with him." TenTen reassured. "Neji said that he was meaning to tell you guys, but it must have been when he collapsed."

"Iruka found out about their plan, so it was good that you sent him Tsunade in a way." Lee announced, taking a step forward. "If you hadn't sent him, the 3 people that you would have sent would have been dead and the blame would go on the Sand Village which would end into a lot of conflicts between the Leaf Village and Gaara." Tsunade's eyes widened. "Iruka found out their plan with his wits and they immediately went to come back to the village when they got ambushed."

"Hm," Kakashi hummed in thought. "Iruka's knowledge isn't something to underestimate. I'm surprised he found out so quickly. Do you know how he found out?"

"He must have put the puzzle pieces together." TenTen suggested. "Neji said that when Iruka and the others got there, Iruka sensed that something was off and he didn't want to believe that it was a simple accident. So they decided to dig, literally."

"They removed the debris from the wreckage until they found the bodies. They easily found Toruko and Iruka examined his body. They didn't find anything suspicious but Iruka dug further. He noticed some faint scribbling on Toruko's head-band." Lee inquired as he reached into his back-pack. He walked to Tsunade and handed her Toruko's Sound head-band. She examined in and noticed that there was faint scribbles on it. "So what Iruka did was put a piece of paper on the head-band and scribble on it with a pencil and the letters came out. It said: 'The Village of the Leaves will fall.' It was hidden and Toruko must have thought that no one would have been able to notice it."

"Iruka notices everything." Shizune concluded, her lips forming in a thin line. "He's very keen to his surroundings, which is why we picked him for the mission."

"Wise decision." Kakashi said, leaning over a bit to take a look at the head-band. "Looks like we owe Iruka, huh Lady Tsunade?" The Hokage let out a sigh, leaning back in her chair.

"Yes, we do." She agreed. "We owe him a great deal, and I also owe him an apology as well. I didn't let him fully report and told him to leave. I should have known that there was more." Tsunade sighed and looked up at Shizune. "Shizune, is he out of the hospital yet?"

"Well, it's only been a day, Tsunade." Shizune stated. "I believe he is still at the hospital since all victims of poison are required to stay there for 2 days for the doctors to see if all of the poison is actually out." Tsunade nodded and went to speak when the door suddenly swung open. They all turned when a doctor rushed in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt!" The doctor panted, bending over a bit. Tsunade got to her feet. "It's just..."

"What? What happened?" Tsunade questioned, reading herself for the worse case scenario.

"It's Iruka!" The doctor said. "We went to do our last examination on him today, but he's gone Lady Tsunade!" Kakashi's eyes widened and he teleported to Iruka's hospital room. He took note of the bed, which wasn't made up and the open window. He went to the window and peered out, his eyes narrowing.

_"Iruka, you fool! What do you think you can possibly do?!"_ Kakashi thought. He turned around as more people teleported behind him.

"He must have gone to find Mizuki!" Shizune exclaimed.

"Kakashi," the said male looked up at the Hokage. "Get your team together. You need to bring him back to the Village!" Tsunade ordered. Kakashi nodded and teleported to the medical training center, where he knew Sakura was.

"Sakura, come with me." Kakashi said. Sakura looked up from the medical book she was studying, blinking in surprise. "Tsunade is sending us on a mission. Come on, we need to find Sai and Naruto."

"I'll go get Sai. Naruto is at the ramen shop." Sakura closed her book and set it down. "Explain later, sensei!" She declared before running past him. Kakashi huffed and ran to the ramen shop. He lifted the curtains up and saw Naruto sitting there, happily eating a bowl of ramen.

"Naruto, we need to go." Kakashi said. Naruto looked up, several strings of noodles hanging out of his mouth.

"Wait a minute, Kakashi-sensei! Can't you see I'm eating?!" Naruto barked before he continued to eat the bowl. Kakashi slammed his fist on the table, making Naruto jump.

"Iruka has gone out to pursue Mizuki, Naruto!" Kakashi shouted. Naruto stared at Kakashi before he inhaled the noodles into his mouth and swallowed. "Tsunade sent Team 7 go bring him back." Naruto's expression turned to anger. He put the bowl down and got up.

"Let's go!" Naruto said. They left the ramen shop and looked up when Sakura and Sai ran up to them.

"But, sensei," Sai spoke as he caught up to them. "Where do you think Iruka went?"

"I know." Naruto said, his fists clenching. "To the hide-out that Mizuki led him to the last time we met up. It was deep in a bamboo forest."

"Then you lead the way, Naruto." Kakashi ordered. Naruto nodded and began running out of the village, with his teacher and fellow team-mates behind him.

_"I swear,"_ Naruto thought, his expression hardening. _"If you touch my sensei, Mizuki, I _will _kill you this time! And that's a promise!"_

* * *

Iruka let out a deep breathe as he slowly walked up to the steps. His eyes scanned the building where he and Mizuki had quarreled the last time. Mizuki had obviously used a jutsu to rebuild it.

Pushing open the doors, he walked in and looked around. The sunlight from outside slowly shined into the darkened area, lighting a few feet up. His keen eyes looked around, slowly adjusting to the dark.

"Iruka." A chilling voice called out. Iruka couldn't help but shiver a little, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "I knew I'd see you again. I heard from my men that you were apart of the group that investigated my little trap. Tsk tsk, and you come here alone, eh?"

"So I see you broke out of prison again." Iruka continued, walking forward slowly. "Who aided you this time? The two idiot brothers?"

"No, they abandoned me long ago thanks to Tsunade." Mizuki scoffed bitterly. "What? Do you think I couldn't have escaped on my own this time?"

"Did Orochimaru help you?!" Iruka assumed.

"Orochimaru?" Mizuki hissed. "Orochimaru filled my head with lies and made me look like a fool! I would never want Orochimaru's help. But, since you asked, I escaped on my own. The prison needs better guards, I say." He laughed.

"I came to settle things, Mizuki!" Iruka yelled. "This _needs_ to stop, Mizuki!" A chilling laughter echoed throughout the building, bouncing off of the walls and making Iruka's heart beat faster in his chest.

"When are you gonna stop saying the same, old, boring things, Iruka-sensei?" Mizuki mocked. Iruka heard a thud followed by a couple of footsteps. He immediately grabbed his kunai and gripped it tightly in his hand before he looked around. The footsteps were getting closer until a figure slowly became visible. Iruka's eyes widened at the new appearance of Mizuki. He had more muscle, more tattoos. His blue hair was longer but pulled back in a ponytail.

"So you say you came to stop me, huh?" Mizuki said with a menacing sneer. "Let's see if you'll actually succeed this time."

* * *

to be continued

* * *

**the 2nd chapter is up! what did you think? _; did I do better or even worse...? Also, I'm sorry if my author-notes are short, I just have no idea what to say ^^; anyways, I'll warn you now: I don't plan on making this story long. I'm more in favor of short stories because if I try to drag the plot line out, I'll eventually get bored and I wouldn't know what to put to stall the plot until the rising-point surfaces. Orz. Do you follow me? ^^; anyways, please tell me how I did in a review please! To the reviewer who suggested I use new words, did I do well?**


	3. The Fire

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, but I do own this story-blahblahblah, you get the picture already...**

**Sakura: What's going to happen next...?**

**Naruto: I hope nothing bad happens to Iruka-sensei...**

**Kakashi: Me too, but I wouldn't get your hopes up, Naruto. I have no doubt Mizuki's power has strengthened...**

**Sai: How do you know of this?**

**Naruto: Oi, you're not helping the situation! And are you talking about that nasty drink he had last time?!**

**Kakashi: No ... I have feeling this will be a lot worse.**

**Sakura: Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see in Chapter 3: The Fire!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Fire  
**

(a/n: as a warning ahead of time, I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit shorter than the others /: and also, when you see this little symbol, *, followed by _italics_ it means the beginning of a flashback. When you see the symbol again but followed by regular font, it's present time. Hope I made that clear enough! If you forget, I'll just put another note before hand c: )

"What are you guys doing?!" Naruto scolded as he stormed over to the rest of his team. "We have no time to waste! We have to find Iruka-sensei right now!" The moon shined in the starry night sky, casting a small light over them. Sakura bent down a bit, putting her hands on her knees as she panted heavily. Sai leaned against a tree as he too tried to catch his breathe. Kakashi was standing at the river just at the side, washing the sweat off of his face before covering his features back up with his mask and forehead protector.

"Naruto." Kakashi piped in. Naruto turned his head, an angry expression on his face. Kakashi walked over to him and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You're driven by anger, but I understand how you feel. The one you care about is risking his life out there-"

"-Which is why we need to keep going!-"

"-Which is why we need to stop and breathe for a bit." Kakashi warned, the tone his voice dropping as his eye narrowed. "You're making your team-mates exhausted, Naruto. We've been traveling for many hours without rest. Or would you rather have one of them faint on us?" Naruto frowned and turned his head, looking over at his other team-mates.

"...Fine." He gave in, sighing. "We'll rest for now." Kakashi sighed, patting his shoulder before giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Come on. Let's start a fire and eat. I bet you're all hungry by now." He suggested. After gathering some wood and the food they had packed - ramen and rice balls, they all sat around the fire. Using a jutsu so no one could see his face as he ate, Kakashi raised the chopsticks to his mouth and sucked in the many strings of noodles before chewing.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sai spoke, breaking the rather awkward silence. Kakashi raised his eyes and looked at the other male. "You've seemed really dazed since we get the news of Iruka. May I ask why?"

"Yeah, I've noticed that too!" Sakura agreed with a mouthful of ramen. "Sensei, you must be really close to him."

"I am." Kakashi answered, letting out a small breathe as he finished his ramen, setting the bowl down. "I've known him for many years."

Naruto looked up as he chewed on his rice ball. "So you must be really worried about him." He stated. Kakashi answered with a nod and looked up at the stars.

"I met him before he met you, Naruto. Do you know how long ago that was?" Kakashi pondered, humming softly in thought. Naruto blinked in surprise. "He came to me one day and told me that he was thinking about joining the academy as a teacher, but he was hesitant; he didn't think the students would like him. To be honest, I thought he'd be a great teacher. He seemed to handle kids well, and he had a lot of knowledge that was useful to spread. So he agreed and passed the teachers application test like it was nothing." Kakashi chuckled and closed his eyes. "But then, not too long later, he came to me again - more troubled this time..."

"Was it because of me?" Naruto asked, looking down at the rice ball in his hand. "Was it because I was his student?"

"Yes." Kakashi answered, rather calmly. Naruto raised his head, his eyes wide. "What you still don't know is the reason behind it all, and the reason why he suddenly changed after a while to be more gentler to you." Kakashi sighed, shaking his head before he grabbed a rice ball. "His parents were killed by the Nine Tails in front of him when he was a child, that's why he was tough with you in the beginning." Naruto gasped, his eyes widening even more. Sakura frowned and looked at Naruto. "He came to me and began to doubt if teaching was worth it if he had to face the child who held the beast who killed his family. But I managed to encourage him, along with the help of the 3rd Hokage. After the first incident with Mizuki, Iruka thanked the 3rd Hokage for making you one of his students. With my words, I managed to make him realize that you weren't that bad of a kid - that you were in as much pain as he was when he was a child. You two were the exact same, you see?"

Naruto gripped the rice ball before taking a bite of it, feeling tears pour into his eyes. "...How come he didn't tell me any of this?"

"What?" Sai piped in, his eyebrows raising. "How do you think you would have handled it then, Naruto? Hearing it _right_ from Iruka himself?"

"You'd feel even more down than you are now." Sakura added, her pink eyebrows furrowing to a point. "Knowing you..."

"Yeah, but-"

"With that said," Kakashi took a bite of the rice ball as he cut Naruto off. "He always believed in the Will of Fire, so that's why he was so into getting you to believe in it too." He watched the fire in front of them, flickering now and then. "I realized after spending time with him for many years, my feelings for him went further - beyond a friendship, but to this day, I don't even know how he feels." Kakashi paused and looked up at his students, who stared at him - gawking. "...That...doesn't bother you guys, right?"

"No!" Sakura smiled, putting her hands on her knees with a big smile. "It doesn't bother me at all! I'm actually quite delighted to hear something like that!"

"Eh?" Kakashi muttered, his eyebrow raising. "Why do you say something like that?"

"Why do you think it would bother us, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto scoffed and finished his rice ball. "I'm not even shocked at all. But, with how you explained about being with Iruka from the gecko...I think I know how Iruka feels." Kakashi looked over at him, blinking in surprise.

"It seems quite obvious." Sai acknowledged. "You would be the first Iruka would go to when he was troubled, am I right?" Kakashi blinked, flabbergasted, before slowly nodding. "Exactly. It means he cherishes you and feels like you'll guide him through roughest parts of his life."

Sakura giggled, much like a school-girl. "It's like one of those romance novels." She admitted. Naruto perked an eyebrow and looked at her. "What?! Don't look at me like that! If you guys can watch porn, us girls can read romance novels!" Naruto nearly choked on his rice ball, but Sai remained with a poker face.

"SAKURA-CHAN! DON'T SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You IDIOT! Why can't I, huh?! Does it embarrass you?!" Sakura retorted. Kakashi chuckled low as he watched his two students bicker before getting up, going to the river-side and stuffing his hands in his pockets. His eyes looked up at the sky and he sighed deeply.

_"Iruka-sensei...please tell me, you're alright..."_

(a/n: remember the little note in the beginning of the chapter? well, it's a flash back ahead! )

_"Kakashi-sensei!" Iruka called out as he ran to catch up with the masked man. Kakashi turned, folding the rather sexual book and putting it in his pocket. "There you are. I've been looking for you."_

_"Huh? You've been looking for me? Now why's that?" Kakashi questioned, blinking. Iruka chuckled and put his hands on his hips._

_"I'll explain over a bowl of ramen. My treat." He said. Kakashi blinked but willingly agreed. They sat at the ramen shop as they happily ate a bowl of beef ramen._

_"So, I got accepted into the academy." Iruka confessed. Kakashi turned his head and looked up at him. "My results came back in the mail - I passed it completely! Haha, can you believe it?! Waaa, I'm so happy." Iruka smiled as he chewed. Kakashi watched him contently, a small smile hidden behind the mask. "It's all thanks to you, ya'know." Iruka turned his head and looked at him, smiling. Kakashi chuckled and continued to eat his ramen.  
_

_"See? I told you you'd pass with flying colors. You should never doubt yourself, Iruka." He playfully scolded. Iruka laughed, shaking his head._

_"I know, but still!" Iruka persisted. "I heard you plan on becoming a team leader. How is that going? Did you get accepted?"_

_"Well, actually..." Kakashi hesitated, causing Iruka to blink and loose his smile. "I don't really think I should..."_

_"Oh come on!" Iruka slammed his hand on the table. Kakashi looked up at him, shocked. "You convinced me to join the academy, but you yourself won't bother signing up for a team leader?! Oi, Kakashi, you're a real handful!" Iruka finished his bowl quickly before he got to his feet. "Thank you for the meal!" Iruka bowed and grabbed Kakashi's hand, tugging him out of the shop without letting Kakashi persist._

_"Oi, Iruka!" Kakashi whined. "Where are you taking me?"_

_"To the Hokage you fool!" Iruka chuckled. "I'm going to tell him to give you an application."_

_"But, Iruka-"_

_"No buts!" Iruka warned, smiling. "Just think of this as me repaying my debt to you."_

_"Debt?" Kakashi asked, blinking in confusion. They reached the Hokage's quarters and walked into the office._

_"Iruka, Kakashi," The 3rd Hokage greeted, bowing his head a little. "What can I help you with?"_

_"Sorry for coming unannounced like this, Hokage." Iruka apologized, bowing his head. "But I was wondering if you could give Kakashi an application to become a team leader." The 3rd Hokage blinked and looked up at Kakashi, who sighed and rubbed the side of his neck. The 3rd Hokage chuckled and folded his arms across his chest._

_"Alright. But let's just do a interview inside, mm?" He affirmed. Iruka grinned and looked at Kakashi, who was shocked. "Iruka, do you mind stepping out for a bit?" Iruka nodded and chuckled at Kakashi before leaving the room. Kakashi sighed, closing his eyes. After questions and answers were exchanged, the Hokage gave Kakashi his answer before setting him go. Kakashi walked out of the room, spotting Iruka playing with a flower pot a little ways down the hall._

_"Iruka." Kakashi said, startling Iruka and nearly making him drop the plot. Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle as he walked over to his flustered friend. Iruka looked up at him with expecting eyes, demanding an answer. Kakashi's eyes softened as he gazed down at him. "I guess you have to tell me Kakashi-sensei from now on." Iruka blinked before a big grin plastered on his face. He cheered before hugging Kakashi tightly._

_"I told you could do it!" Iruka chimed._

_"Actually, no you didn't-"_

_"Oh, urusai!"_

_Kakashi smiled softly from under his mask, leaning his head down to rest it on Iruka's shoulder as he slipped his hands around Iruka's slim waist. "Thank you, Iruka..." He murmured._

Kakashi exhaled and closed his eyes. _"You convinced me to become a team leader, as I convinced you to become a teacher."_ He thought to himself. _"...And to this day, I had yet to pay my debt to you."_

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto called out. Kakashi turned and looked at them. "We're ready to head out."

"Right." Kakashi approved, nodding his head. He hopped up on a tree branch. "Are we close, Naruto?" Naruto hopped up to Kakashi's side, Sakura and Sai following suit.

"Hai." Naruto answered, his eyes looking off into the distance. "I can see the beginning of the bamboo forest not too far from here. Let's go!" Kakashi nodded and they began following Naruto as the boy sped off ahead of them.

* * *

"Iruka." Mizuki taunted with a chuckle. Several pants left the said males parted lips. A cut on his cheek, the right side of his neck, and several on his arms and legs are visible due to the line of blood. Scratch marks covered his face and his knees along with the palms of his hands, mainly from gripping his kunai so hard.

"It seems that you've gotten weaker from last time. Your fighting skills haven't improved at all." Mizuki laughed. Iruka let out another heavy breathe before he stood up straight. His eyes opened and his expression hardened. He looked around, searching for Mizuki in the darkness. "Although your fighting skills are still the same, your stubbornness has strengthened; you're still standing with back then, it didn't take me much to bring you to your knees." Iruka growled a bit as Mizuki laughed.

"When are you going to stop being such a coward by hiding in the darkness?!" Iruka yelled. Mizuki chuckled in response.

"I told you before, Iruka. For guys like you in the light, darkness can be a bit of a problem." He answered. Iruka's eyes widened as he recognized what Mizuki said. He said the exact same thing when they had their last encounter.

"I see you still haven't came to look into the darkness." Mizuki sneered, grinning down at Iruka before leaping to the ground. Iruka's eyes narrowed and he threw kunai's at Mizuki, who was a bit taken back but managed to dodge.

"I guess you missed a lot, Mizuki." Iruka growled as he took a step forward, his eyes locking on to Mizuki. "I've learned a lot since we last saw each other - I've accustomed to the dark." Mizuki's once wide eyes relaxed and he laughed.

"Well, this just got even more interesting!" Mizuki declared, secretly setting off some paper bombs as he launched at Iruka. Yards away, Team 7 was getting closer to their location. Naruto's heart was beating his chest as he speeds up. Kakashi notices that and feels himself getting anxious as well. He knew all too well how Naruto would react if they stumbled upon an injured Iruka. But Kakashi didn't know how himself would react. Would he loose it like he knew Naruto would? Would he seek to end Mizuki's life, too?

"We're here." Sai affirmed as they all hopped down from he trees. Wasting no time, they immediately began running towards the structure. Naruto gazed upon it, recognizing the building.

"It's just like how it was the last time we encountered Mizuki..." He said softly to himself. Suddenly, like deja vu, the building suddenly exploded, bursting into flames and sending chunks of concrete plummeting to the ground. They all stopped in their tracks and began dodging the chunks. Smoke rose high up in the air as the fire blazed big and bright, illuminating the night sky. Kakashi stared wide-eyed in shock. Naruto's eyes widened as well and he immediately began running for the building, hoping that just like last time, Iruka was alive.

"Iruka-sensei!"

* * *

**to be continued**

* * *

**author's note: i noticed you guys liked to the suspence that was building and ending the last chapter - along with this one - as a cliff-hanger. haha, how did i do on this one? *devil horns***


	4. The Tears

**Disclaimer: ...does it look like that I own Naruto?**

**So yesterday, I was typing the chapter. And I was nearly done. And I was so into it. And I was so happy with it. And I made a spelling error. And I pressed "backspace" to retype the word. And my computer glitched. And my computer thought I meant "go back to the previous page." And it went back to the previous page. And now the entire chapter I worked on was gone. And now I'm stuck rewriting it ALL. And it will suck, I promise.**

**Also, I dare you to read this chapter will listening to 'Sadness and Sorrow' on loop. I fucking dare you.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Tears**

( just a friendly reminder: * followed by _italics _is a flashback. But this isn't a flashback. It's when Iruka is unconscious and he's dreaming. )

_Everything around him was nothing but black. Black ceiling, black walls, black floor. There no other sound besides the sound of water dripping slowly. There was nothing else around him, but he continued to walk through the black aimlessly. There had to be something. There had to be. There must be a light or a way out of this blackness. He was beginning to feel suffocated by it. It's as if the blackness had hands and they were squeezing his lungs slowly, making it harder and harder to him to breathe._

_Suddenly, a bright light appeared a few feet in front of him. The light caused him to raised his hand to shield his squinting eyes. He watched the light curiously before he began to slowly walk to it. Stepping into the light, he was in a completely new environment. His eyes widened as took on the sight in front of him. Practically every building around him was destroyed. He could see some villagers crushed under the heavy chunks of concrete or on the ground in a pool of their own blood. The sky was black with smoke and fire. He was surrounded by devastation, but he knew this village. It was Konoha._

_He looked around, desperate to find a living person, before he took off in a random direction. He had to find someone. He had to. This couldn't be real. This must be a dream. There has to be someone out there that will tell him that this is a dream. That no one is dead, that the village he cherishes isn't destroyed beyond repair. But he found no one. No matter how much he called out for someone, waiting for a response, he never got one. Everyone was dead._

_The man dropped to his knees as he sobbed, slamming his hands down to the ground in front of him. He could feel the roughness of the dirt and the warmth of the ashes beneath his fingertips. _

_"Iruka." A soothing voice echoed, causing the said man to raise his head up in alarm. "You must not give up."_

_"W-Who are you...?" Iruka stuttered as he stumbled up to his feet. He seemed to recognize the deep, husky voice._

_"You must not quit. That's not the Iruka Konoha knows." Iruka's eyes widened a bit as he spotted another light form in front of him. "And that's definitely not the Iruka I know." Iruka's breathe caught in his throat as he watched the dark figure slowly emerge from the light._

_"D-Do I know you...?"_

_"You must not give up, my son." Iruka watched the outline of the figure's clothing begin to come into detail. He seemed to be wearing a large, diamond-shaped cap and a robe was flowing behind him. The figure stepped out of the light and the features of the man became more visible, causing Iruka to freeze in his spot._

_"T-Third Hokage?!" He exclaimed. The 3rd Hokage smiled warmly at him. "B-But...you're dead! Wait...does that mean..."_

_"No, you're not dead." The 3rd Hokage responded, walking towards him. "But you need to wake up, Iruka."_

_"W-What happened here?! Why is everyone dead?!" Iruka demanded. The 3rd Hokage looked around before he looked up at Iruka. "Is this...a dream?" _

_"Yes, it is. None of this is real, but it doesn't mean it could be in the future." He stated. Iruka's eyes widened. "You need to wake up, my son. Mizuki...he's definitely a lot more wild than he used to be."_

_"Mizuki? You mean he did this to the village?" Iruka asked. The 3rd Hokage nodded and let out a sigh._

_"This is what he could do if he isn't stopped, Iruka. Everyone would die." He responded. " You need to stop him, Iruka. Konoha needs you."_

_"Hey, why say something so drastic?" Iruka huffed, looking away. "Konoha doesn't need me, what are you talking about? I'm just a teacher."_

_"A teacher who is a role model, a hero, and precious friend of many." Iruka raised his head, looking up in shock. "Iruka, there are many things you don't know, that you choose not to see." The 3rd Hokage reached out and put his hand on his shoulder. "Your students look up to you. They work hard to earn your praise and work twice as hard when they make a mistake. Although you were faced with a drastic past, you rose above it for the better. Although you don't know any jutsu's and what not, you always out-run us with your wits. Your echolocation makes it easy for you to spot danger miles away, and that's a quality not even the sharingan possesses. You, of all people, were able to tame Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka's eyes widened and he looked up at the man. "You help people go on the right path for their dreams, even if you don't realize it, Iruka. If you die, the village will mourn. Naruto, Kakashi, and your student would mourn the most out of all of them."_

_"Third Hokage..."_

_"My son, you can't give up. I know time is rough, but you're needed." The 3rd Hokage leaned in and placed a warm kiss on Iruka's forehead. "It's time to wake up." Iruka blinked in shock before he relaxed, closing his eyes._

_"Iruka!"_

_The sudden call for his name made his eyes shoot open. The Hokage was gone. The scene of the destroyed village was gone. He was once again surrounded by nothing, but instead of black, everything was white._

_"Iruka, please wake up!"_

_"Who's calling for me...?" Iruka pondered. He turned around and saw another light. But instead of going towards it, he stood there and stared at it._

_"Iruka! For God's sake, wake up!"_

_Iruka's eyebrows furrowed a little. "Who is it...? Who are the owners of those voices...? Why are they calling for me...?"_

_"Iruka...please wake up! I still haven't told you how I felt about you yet! Don't leave me before I get a chance to! I can't loose another precious person!"_

_Iruka gasped as he listened to the voice, recognizing it. He looked up at the light and ran towards it desperately. Tears poured into his eyes and he reached out, his hand stretching out to the light. "Kakashi!" A hand reached out of the light slowly as Iruka got closer. Iruka reached out further and took the hand._

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, Iruka's eyes fluttered opened. He had a hard time seeing, which caused him to lazily blink a few more times. His vision blurred but he could see the clear blue sky up above him. He could feel the warm breeze. He could hear the birds chirping up in the trees.

He was alive.

"Iruka..." A soft voice called out. Iruka slowly lowered his gaze a little. He saw Naruto and Kakashi at both of his sides. Kakashi was holding Iruka's head in his lap while clutching on to one of his hands. Naruto stared down at Iruka with tears pouring down his cheeks. Sakura was healing a small injury on Iruka's leg and Sai stood at her side. However, Iruka could see someone standing in front of Sai. It was Mizuki.

"Oh thank god..." Naruto breathed, lowering his head. Iruka turned his gaze and looked at him. "I thought you were gonna die..."

"The Will of Fire isn't something easy to kill, Naruto. You should know this by now." Iruka responded with a soft smile. Naruto raised his head, shocked.

"You fool..." Kakashi muttered, causing the two to look over at him. "What if you died, huh?! What then?!" Kakashi stared down at him when Iruka noticed something. Not only was Kakashi injured, but his head-band was lifted up to reveal his one-eyed sharingan.

"D-Did you fight Mizuki?" Iruka asked. Kakashi nodded, his eyebrows pulling together to a point.

"We both did." Kakashi answered. Naruto was the first to charge. He was going to go into Nine Tails state but we couldn't afford the destruction..."

"Sensei, I told you! I mastered Sage Mode! I could have easily taken him down!" Naruto said, slamming his hands on to the ground in front of him. Kakashi looked up at him, his eyes sharp.

"Naruto, face it. You haven't mastered Sage Mode, _just yet_. Unless you would like to use it now and injure yourself like last time in the process?" He reminded. Naruto sighed and looked down, defeated. "You got the basics down, but not all of them."

"Then...what are we gonna do?" Iruka whispered, furrowing his eyebrows. "How are we going to stop Mizuki?"

"...I don't know." Kakashi admitted, furrowing his eyebrows as he lowered his gaze.

"Sai!" Sakura called out. The 3 of them looked up in alarm as Sai got blasted, sending him flying through the air. Naruto jumped up and caught him, skidding back a bit.

"You guys are weaker than I thought. I kinda wanna go against the chick over there and see what she's got." Mizuki taunted with a grin. Sakura shot him a look before she got up and went over to Sai. "Kakashi! Let me go another round with you! What do you say?" Mizuki folded his arms across his chest. "You were the only guy here that kept me on my toes." Kakashi sighed and got to his feet.

"N-No, Kakashi!" Iruka reached out and took his hand. "You can't fight him again!" Iruka begged. Kakashi smiled softly under his mask and put his hand over Iruka's.

"I'm trying to protect someone precious to me. Why are you trying to prevent me from doing so?" He questioned. Iruka's eyes widened in shock. Kakashi pulled his hand away and walked towards Mizuki, his fists baring.

"Geez, is he always that stubborn?" Iruka asked as Naruto came to his side. Naruto chuckled and bent down, sitting down on the ground.

"Are you kidding? You should see him on missions." Naruto complained. Iruka chuckled but then groaned as pain shot up his ribs. "Easy, sensei! You got a couple of broken ribs..." Iruka exhaled and closed his eyes, nodding softly.

"Yeah, I can tell." He confirmed. Iruka carefully sat up and exhaled, looking up at Kakashi. His eyes watched the silver-haired man move about, dodging Mizuki's blows and managing to land a few of his own. He noticed the injuries on Kakashi and couldn't help but frown.

"Is Sai alright, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, turning to look at his other team-mates. Sakura nodded as she stopped healing Sai, who sat up and rubbed his wrist. "Good." Naruto sighed and looked at Iruka, blinking as he noticed Iruka's concerned expression.

"Iruka-sensei? What's with that look? Is everything okay?" Naruto asked, peeking into Iruka's vision. Iruka blinked a bit and smiled softly at him before he turned his attention back to Kakashi.

"Say, Naruto, how long have you guys been here?" Iruka pondered. Naruto blinked at his question before he paused to think.

"I'd say...2 hours." He responded. Iruka's eyes widened and he looked at Naruto. "Yeah. I'd say it's been two hours."

"And this is Kakashi's second time fighting Mizuki?" Iruka exclaimed. Naruto shook his head no and held up 3 fingers. "He fought him three times? You've got to be kidding me-Naruto, we can't let him fight anymore. Look at his injuries for Christ's sake!" Iruka gestured towards Kakashi. Naruto frowned a bit and looked up at his sensei, his eyes scanning the amount of injuries on him. "And let me guess, he didn't let Sakura heal him?"

"No." Sai answered as he walked to Naruto's side. "He didn't let Sakura heal him until you woke up." Iruka groaned.

"This man will get a beating later." Iruka hissed a bit. Sakura chuckled and put her hands on her hips. Kakashi landed on his feet, letting out heavy breathes. Mizuki stood in front of him, chuckling softly to himself.

_"I managed to land some hits of my own, but it seems like he's still unaffected." _Kakashi thought to himself, his eyes narrowing a bit. _"This is so frustrating. I feel like we haven't gotten anywhere since we started battling with him."_

"Kakashi!" Mizuki called out. "You seem irritated. Is it because you can't defeat me? Ha!" Mizuki laughed before folding his arms across his chest. "I'm not like that weakling in the past. I ditched Orochimaru in search for _true_ power." Kakashi scoffed slightly but kept his guard up.

_"What is he up to now?" _Kakashi thought as he watched Mizuki do some hand-signs to a jutsu.

"Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation!" Mizuki chanted before slapping his hands together. Kakashi's eyes widened as a wooden coffin rose up from the ground. "You ready to face your past?" Mizuki taunted with a grin. The cover to the coffin was knocked off, revealing a female. Kakashi froze in his spot, his eyes wide in shock as he stared at her. She opened her eyes - her soulless and empty eyes - before looking up at Kakashi, sending shivers down his spine.

"Do you not recognize me?" She questioned as she stepped out of the coffin, her arm raising as chakra covered her entire forearm. "Kakashi."

"Rin." Kakashi responded slowly. She stared at him, the kindness that he remembered completely gone. He felt his heart-ache.

_"Why was Mizuki taunting me like this...?"_ Kakashi thought to himself and gripped his fists as he felt them shake.

"By the way," Mizuki added, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm sure you know about Obito, right?" Kakashi turned his head and looked at him, his eyes narrowing.

"He died years ago-" Kakashi was cut off by Mizuki's maniacal laughter. Kakashi's fists tightened and he felt anger boil in him. "What are you laughing at?!"

"Oh, you're _such _a fool, Kakashi!" Mizuki laughed. "Obito is not dead - I'm still surprised you guys still haven't caught on by now!" Kakashi's eyes widened and his breathe caught in his throat. "Oh, should I spoil it for you guys? Or should I let you guys find out yourselves? I'm sure you two will end up bumping heads in the future." Kakashi growled at him and glared. The man was making no sense.

"Will you stop mocking me?!" Kakashi yelled.

"He isn't mocking you, Kakashi." Rin said, walking towards him slowly. "He's saying the truth. Obito..." Her eyes turned red and she charged for him. "Lives!" Kakashi dodged easily, causing Rin's chakra fist to slam into a tree.

"Screw it, I'll spoil it for you." Mizuki sneered. Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to hear any of it.

"Shut up!"

"He is still alive today."

"I said shut up!"

"But he goes by a different name."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear any more of this!"

Mizuki laughed and grabbed his giant shuriken. "You're so naive!" He yelled. "You're so haunted by your past you refuse to see your future!" He launched the shuriken at Kakashi.

"He lives, Kakashi. He lives." Rin repeated over and over, making Kakashi's mind spin. He covered his ears and screamed out.

"It's a lie!" He yelled.

"Kakashi, get down!" Someone yelled, snapping Kakashi out of it. He looked up, his eyes widened as a shuriken was being hurled at him at a fast pace, barely even giving him time to even process it. When suddenly, someone appeared in front of him. He stared at the person's back, his eyes wide in shock. Blood poured to the ground and spilled down the corner of the man's lips. Mizuki stood there, shocked for a second, before he stood up straight. He burst into wild laughter, hugging his ribs.

"...!" Team 7 stood, frozen in their spots, in horror at the sight.

"This is like deja vu!" Mizuki yelled between fits of laughter. "I guess the classics stay the same, right Iruka?" Mizuki mocked, reaching forward. Lines of chakra came out of his fingertips and they wrapped around the shuriken that was en-lodged into Iruka's chest, yanking the giant weapon out. Iruka let out a weak groan and slowly, he fell to his knees. Kakashi reacted quickly and caught Iruka in his arms.

"I-Iruka, what have you..." He looked down at the gaping wound in Iruka's chest that send pure panic through Kakashi. "...done?" Iruka smiled a little as blood continued to pour out of his chest. With a shaking hand, he reached up and managed to pull down Kakashi's mask with his fingertips. Kakashi was shocked at his action but allowed it to happen, feeling Iruka's warm fingers glide across his skin before gently pressing to his lips.

"There they are..." Iruka whispered, barely audible.

"Iruka, please don't talk-"

"Your lips..." Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed as he felt Iruka's fingers caress his bottom lip. "...even though we've known...each other for long...I never got to see your face..." Kakashi felt a stinging sensation in the back of his throat and a numbing feeling wash over his brain. Something tugged at his heart, quite hard actually, and tears poured down Kakashi's cheeks like a waterfall. "Hey, now...don't cry."

"You fool, how can I not?!" Kakashi shouted. Iruka chuckled a little but then flinched, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. Kakashi's eyes widened and he immediately called out for Sakura.

"No..." Iruka held his hand out to stop Sakura's healing hands. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed and Kakashi opened his mouth to scold him but Iruka stopped him. "Forget...about me. If you don't...defeated Mizuki now...he'll destroy the village."

"We can't just forget about you like you were nothing but a waste of space!" Sakura exclaimed. Naruto, who stood behind them, was still froze in place. His tear-filled eyes were locked on the wound in Iruka's chest. Flashbacks hit him - when Iruka shielded him from the same shuriken, causing a scar to be left behind, and when he shielded Iruka the shuriken. His shaking hands formed into tight fists, his knuckles turning white. His blue eyes turned into hatred as he looked upon Mizuki as yellow bubbles began to form around him. Sai watched in shock Naruto suddenly transformed into a completely new Sage. He recognized this form.

"Naruto, you..." He said softly. "You...transformed into the Sage of Six Paths!" (a/n: did Naruto learn this type of Sage mode before Kakashi and Obito battled? If so, well, it's switched here. I just wanted to let you know, haha, don't hate me)

"You really..." Naruto began, the tears pouring non-stop down his cheeks.

"Iruka...Hey, hey, you need to stay with me!" Kakashi begged, cupping Iruka's cheek in his hand as Iruka's eyes began to close.

"If...I survive this...will you go on a date with me?" Iruka mumbled. At his words, the tears in Kakashi's eyes doubled. He felt his body shake as he held Iruka protectively to his chest.

"...I promise...but you gotta promise _to_ survive! You have to, Iruka!" Kakashi sobbed. A soft smile crossed Iruka's lips before his eyes fell shut, his body falling limp in Kakashi's arms. He looked at Iruka in horror, everything around him loosing their sounds as if he had gone deaf. He heard nothing but a soft, ringing sound. Kakashi let himself get gently pushed out of the way but Sakura who immediately began tending to Iruka's injury. Kakashi stumbled to his feet, taking a few steps back. He looked at his hands, seeing Iruka's blood all over his gloves. His breathing suddenly got quicker and as he stared at his hands, lightening bolts began to form around his arms. Kakashi squeezed his eyes shut.

"You really..." Kakashi mumbled, the tears pouring endlessly down his cheeks. His eyes shot open and his one-eyed sharingan suddenly changed to the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Have done it this time." Both Naruto and Kakashi said in unison.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

**author's note: so, uh...-prepares to be kicked and killed- you'll hate me for this chapter, won't you?**


	5. The Promise

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto.**

**Oh my dear-I haven't updated in a while. I apologize for that ^^; anyways, I hope you didn't like strange me over the internet for that last chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Promise**

( just another small reminder: _italics_ is either a flashback or someone in their unconscious state dream or whatever you call it )

_"Where am I...?"_

_"What happened...?"_

_"Am I dead...?"_

_"Will I never see Naruto or Kakashi ever again...?"_

_Everything around him was pitch black. Black enough for him to not even see his own hand 2 inches in front of his face. As far as he could tell, the blackness didn't end and there was no sign of light anywhere. There wasn't even any sound. Not even the delicate 'plink' of water dropping. Just eerie silence that wrapped itself around him._

_"Is anyone...even there?"_

_Slowly, a ray of light began to push through the darkness in the sky. The ray of light landed on the ground before it slowly began to crawl upwards until it stopped upon a body. He was floating in mid-air, his limbs showing no interest in touching the ground. The ray of light didn't stir him even a little, for his was too weak to even open his eyes. But he knew the light was there, shining upon him like it was trying to give him back his strength._

_"What's with that light? I know it's there, but...why?"_

_He tried to open his eyes, but it's as like it was forbidden. He tried to move, but it was like he was being held down. So there he lay, half-way off of the ground and engulfed in the warm ray of light. _

_"But...it's so warm..."_

_A hand out-stretched from the depths of blackness, a hand that seemed to be see-through yet glowing as gold as the ray of light. The hand gently touched the man's forehead with its fingertips. As soon as its fingertips touched his forehead, a little spark glowed before subduing a few seconds later. The man suddenly felt obligated to open his eyes, so slowly he did so. His vision had a layer of fuzz, so he blinked multiple times to try to finally regain his vision back. He looked up at the source of the ray, but he didn't see anything. Just the sky. It was weird, the light didn't end blind him as he looked straight into it. _

_"This is so strange..."_

_The same hand reached out and took the man's wrist, gently pulling him up so he was on his own two-feet. The man blinked and looked down, seeing the ground way down below. But he didn't feel like he was going to fall. He raised his head as he suddenly heard a sound. He whipped his head around to try to find the sound but the blackness rendered him from doing so._

_"W-Where is it coming from? It sounded like a voice..."_

_When he struggled to find the source of the sound, he was unable to notice a figure walking towards him - walking on the ray of light coming from the sky. The figure finally reached him and put its hand on the boy's shoulder. The man gasped in surprise and turned around. The figure was indistinguishable at first but the features became visible one by one. The man stood there in complete shock as he let the sight in front of him sink in._

_"Iruka." The figure said softly, his eyes softening considerably with fondness. "It's been a long time, my son. Far too long." Iruka remained silent, unable to find the right words to speak as he stared at the man in front of him with wide-eyes._

_"...F-Father..." Iruka managed to stutter out. 'This must be a dream then...' His father smiled sadly at him before reaching out to ghost his fingers along his son's cheek._

_"I'm sorry we had to separate like that back then...But me and your mother, we were dedicated to do our best so you could get out alive. You must understand that by now..." Iruka swallowed thickly before nodding a little. "Everything happens for a reason, my son. We cannot control our fate, but we can choose our own destiny."_

_Iruka gasped. "Mizuki!" He exclaimed._

_"He has chosen the wrong path, Iruka, and he cannot be helped. But your friends..." His father turned his head and Iruka followed his gaze, blinking in shock when he saw an image popping out from the darkness. Two figures fighting another. The image became more clear and figures became recognizable._

_"K-Kakashi...Naruto...They're fighting Mizuki?" Iruka questioned, turning his head to look at his father in confusion. His father nodded, keeping his gaze locked on the image._

_"How could they not? When you got hit by that giant shuriken, they both were consumed by anger. Naruto turned into one of his Sage Mode's and Kakashi ended up using his deadliest weapon; his one-eyed Sharingan." He explained. Iruka was about to ask why but his father beat him to it. "If Kakashi or Naruto took that shuriken, would get angry as well, Iruka?"_

_"...!" Iruka's eyes widened in shock at his father's question._

_"Would you not get consumed with so much fury, you unleashed your anger out on to the enemy?" His father turned his head and looked at him. "To them, you are worth protecting."_

_"B-But Mizuki-"_

_"He will die." His father stated sternly. Iruka's eyes widened. "Iruka, no words can pursue him to turn away from his evil doings, you should know this by now - this was your third time seeing him attack you. He hasn't changed for the better, he's only gotten more cold. Mizuki is still a threat to Konoha, he has links to Orochimaru and he must be terminated. You must understand that, Iruka." Iruka turned his head and looked at the image, watching Naruto and Kakashi continue fighting Mizuki. _

_"...Am I dead?" Iruka muttered, his eyebrows furrowing as his expression changed. "Am I dead, father? Is that how I can see you?"_

_"No, my son, you're not dead. You're close to it, though." Iruka's father answered before grabbing his son's shoulders, turning him to face him. "But I'm here to prevent that."_

_"What?" Iruka gasped. "W-Why?"_

_"Because it's not your time, Iruka. You still got some things to do, some kids to teach. You got people to see; Kakashi, Naruto. It is NOT your time, Iruka! But it's up to you if you want to die or live." His father reasoned, gently shaking Iruka by his shoulders. Iruka turned his head and looked at the image, his eyes softening as he gaze upon Kakashi. "Well?"_

_"I...I don't want to die...I want to see him again..." Iruka murmured. His father smiled softly and nodded, cupping his son's face in his hands to make him look at him. He reached up and placed two fingers on Iruka's forehead._

_"I'll see you again, son. I promise." He concluded. Iruka closed his eyes as a bright light consumed both of them._

* * *

Slowly, Iruka opened his eyes and stared up at the grey sky up above. He stared at the sky with a blank expression before he slowly turned his gaze away and looked at those around him. He saw Sai sitting up against a tree, Sakura healing the huge wound at his stomach and a part of his chest. He felt a numbness wash over him and chose not to move. Hearing two sharp and angry yells, he turned his gaze and looked up at the source of the yells.

_"Naruto...Kakashi..."_ He thought to himself.

"Iruka." Sakura called out softly, relief evident in her voice. "Oh my god...I thought you'd die. Sai, are you alright?" Sai looked up at her and nodded. "Good. Go to Konoha, get Lady Tsunade and some of her medics to come here pronto. I'm doing my best to close the injury, but I can't do it alone - it's too big. If we don't hurry, he _will_ die." Sai's eyes widened slightly before he nodded. He got to his feet and dashed off.

"Naruto, shall we finish this?" Kakashi asked, side-glancing the boy. Naruto growled before he nodded firmly.

"Let's fuse our chakra's together, sensei." Naruto suggested. Kakashi's eyes widened and he looked at him in disbelief. "We can fuse your Chidori and my Rasen-shuriken together. I think it'll cause use to win this match." Kakashi scanned Naruto's stern expression before he nodded.

"Alright." He answered, slapping his hands together. Kakashi formed some hand signs before holding out his left hand. "Chidori!" Loud chirping noises began to surface, slowly at first before strengthening. Naruto exhaled and held out his left hand, placing it right beside the Chidori. A ball of chakra began to form in the middle of his palm.

"How amusing." Mizuki panted as he got to his feet. "Do you think by fusing chakra together, you guys can defeat me?"

"You've already weakened, Mizuki. We need to end this here and now." Naruto growled as the rasen-shuriken became more visible in his hand. "And like I said a million times before, if you ever touch my sensei again, I will kill you. And you touched him for the 3rd time, ignoring my warnings. I've had enough of playing your games!" Both Kakashi and Naruto ran towards Mizuki in unison, pulling their hands closer together until they fused into one. They pulled their arms back and jumped up into the air.

"Rasen-shuriken!"

"Chidori!"

A huge blast was the result of Naruto and Kakashi colliding with Mizuki. Iruka squeezed one eye shut as a huge gust of dust and debris particles came towards them. Sakura gasped in shock and continued to heal Iruka while trying to remain on the ground instead of being blown away. The wind subsided and she slowly turned her head to look for her team-mate and sensei. Her eyebrows furrowed as she couldn't make anything out due to the dust lingering in the air.

"I can't...see them." She muttered softly.

"...Ka...Kakashi..." Iruka whispered. Kakashi panted heavily before he got to his feet, looking around momentarily before he looked down. He reached and grabbed Naruto's arm, pulling him up to his feet. Naruto stood up shakingly before he managed to stand up on his own.

"Kakashi-sensei! Naruto!" Sakura called out, a relieved smile on her expression. "It's Iruka! He's alive!" Kakashi looked up in alarm before he ran over to Sakura's side. He bent down and looked down at Iruka, his eyebrows furrowing a point as he noticed Iruka's eyes were half-way open.

"Iruka...You're alive." Kakashi whispered. Iruka managed a small smile, which made Kakashi's eyes begin to tear up.

"Do you...guys have no...faith in me?" Iruka pondered. "I told you...the Will of Fire...can't be killed easily." Kakashi chuckled faintly and closed his eyes.

"You baka..." He gritted. "If I could, I'd slap you...If I lost you...do you even know how much I would _ache_?!" Iruka reached up slowly and cupped Kakashi's tear stained cheek. As soon as he felt Iruka's hand on his cheek, Kakashi immediately reached up and put his hand on the others.

"I'm not...going anywhere..."

* * *

"How is he?!" Naruto demanded, jumping up to his feet before grabbing a hold of Tsunade's shoulders firmly. The Hokage blinked a bit in shock before chuckling softly. "Is he dead?! No, he better be alive! C'mon, Old Lady, answer me damn it!"

"He's alive and stable." Tsunade chuckled as she took Naruto's hands off of her. "But he took a lot of damage, so he'll be in the hospital a couple of weeks. I'm unsure how long though. It depends on how well his biggest injury will heal.

"That's right..." Naruto faintly whispered, his eyes slightly widening. "How is that going anyways?"

"We managed to stop the bleeding and repair any and every damaged tissue and organ there was. But that was the injury that took its biggest tole on his body. Not to mention the blood loss was crazy, every ounce of his chakra is gone, it hit 2 vital points; it's a miracle _and_ a mystery on how he survived. However," Tsunade turned her head and looked at Iruka's hospital door. "when we were talking about how amazing it was that he survived, he said something. He said that while he was unconscious, he...spoke to his father." Kakashi's eyes widened and he looked up at the Hokage.

"You mean...His father..."

Tsunade nodded as he looked at Kakashi. "Although his father is dead, he somehow rescued Iruka from certain death. One of the medics personally knew Iruka's father - he said that his father had outrageous healing jutsus! He even said that one time, he even saw Iruka's father join minds with a dying patient before saving his life."

"Iruka's father had the power to control life?!" Naruto exclaimed in shock.

"No, but it's something similar to that. His could perform jutsus that control blood flow through the human circulatory system. He could also perform jutsus that could heal all types of damaged tissue. It's like he was rescuing people from certain death - he'd be able to heal the very injury that would render that person from living. But even so," Tsunade opened the door and walked in, letting Team 7 follow in behind her. "how was his father able to do so when he's dead?" Sai's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Iruka before looking up at the Hokage.

"Lady Hokage, may I ask a couple of questions?" He said. The Hokage turned and looked at him before nodding. "Was there any official reports of his parents death? Were their bodies found?"

"Iruka's mother's body was found, but his father's wasn't. However, from what the other survivors claimed, Iruka's father was burned to crisp from the Nine Tail's fire." Tsunade explained, folding her arms across her chest. "There wasn't any sign of him, only his dog-tags."

"Let me see those dog-tags." Sai requested, holding out his hand. Tsunade blinked in shock before she nodded, sending a medic off to fetch the dog-tags. Kakashi hummed in thought before he got in front of Sai. He looked up at Sai, who nodded softly at him as if to confirm permission. Kakashi made some hand signs before he place his hand on Sai's.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Kakashi chanted. A puff of smoke formed around their hands before it disappeared. Pakkun stood gloomily in Sai's hand.

"Huh?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Sensei, why did you summon a dog?! Especially _that_ dog!"

"Oh, will you quit the complaining?" Pakkun grunted. "A dog's scent is superior than to a human's, you fool!" Naruto blinked in shock and looked up at Kakashi.

"Kakashi, why did you summon one of your dogs?" Tsunade asked, perking an eyebrow. She watched Kakashi go to Iruka's bed side. He sat down on the bed and took Iruka's hand in his own, holding it tightly.

"Pakkun is one of my sharpest dogs. You'll see a minute." He said. Sakura blinked in confusion as she tilted her head to the side. The door opened and the medic returned with a bag in his hand. The dog-tags were contained inside. Tsunade took the bag and and opened it, carefully taking it out as if she didn't want to taint a piece of murder evidence with her own prints. She held it in front of Pakkun, who began to sniff it carefully for a couple of minutes. Kakashi turned his head and looked at Pakkun, both of his eyes widening.

"No way..." He said softly. Pakkun hummed before leaning away from the dog-tag, his eyes slightly narrowing.

"This is very interesting indeed." He pondered, looking down at his soft paws.

"Hey, will you spill the beans already?! What the heck did you smell?!" Naruto shouted.

"I smelled something very trivial." Pakkun answered before letting out a sigh. "I smelled...Iruka's father."

"Well, of course you would - it was his dog tag!" Sakura persisted. "Of course you'll smell him on it."

"You misunderstand." Kakashi accused, releasing the summoning jutsu. "Pakkun is able to smell scents and follow the scent until he is able to come to a conclusion."

"Well, what conclusion did he come to?" Tsunade asked, her eyes narrowing at Kakashi. "Enough with the games, Kakashi. Give us answers."

"What you guys aren't catching on to is this: Pakkun is able to track the scent, which mean he's able to tell if the owner of the scent is dead or alive. What the survivors said on what happened to Iruka's father was what they thought they saw happen." Kakashi explained. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Y-You mean...Iruka's father wasn't destroyed by the Nine Tails?" He said slowly. Kakashi nodded before his gaze hardened.

"Iruka's father...is alive."

* * *

**the end**

* * *

**author's note: haha ^^; yeah this is the last chapter HOWEVER, there will be an epilogue to further explore KakaIru in the end, don't worry about it. anyways, at the end of the epilogue I will discuss a possible change of a sequel! The ending of the epilogue is important and it will influence the thought of a sequel so stay tuned!**


End file.
